Cyanide and related species detection with metal surfaces

ABSTRACT

An assay method and kit for detecting a chemical. The method and kit utilize a metal surface capable of surface enhanced Raman Scattering. The metal surface may be provided in the form of one or more nanoparticles, to increase the surface enhanced Raman Scattering capability of the metal surface. The nanoparticles may be treated with one or more additives to further enhance or maintain the surface enhanced Raman Scattering capability of the nanoparticles.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/840,090, filed May 6, 2004, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/468,602, filed May 7, 2003. The entiredisclosures of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/840,090 and U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/418,602 are incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to detection and monitoring of chemicals.More particularly, the present invention relates to an assay method andkit for detecting a chemical and/or a species related to the chemical,such as cyanide and its related species, using a metal surface thatmaintains or produces large enhancements of the Raman scattering(surface enhance Raman Scattering or SERS) when the chemical binds tothe metal surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An assay is defined as a test that identifies a chemical species,determines its presence, and can measure the amount of chemical speciepresent. The chemical specie is termed an “analyte” in the field ofchemical analysis. These assays are relevant to many diagnosticsituations.

Cyanide and some of the related species represent a class of very toxicsubstances. Cyanide and some of the related species are used for a classof compounds known as chemical warfare agents. It would be particularlyvaluable to be able to detect these chemical warfare agents atconcentrations well below the toxic level in order to provide an earlywarning to potentially affected populations. Cyanide and related speciesalso find widespread use in the mining and chemical manufacturingindustries.

The SERS affect stems from an electromagnetic and often chemicalenhancement of Raman scattering at a metal surface. Most often the metalsurface is composed of silver or gold. These metals produce strongenhancements only under special conditions. One of these conditions isthe size of the metal surface. A common method of performing SERSspectroscopy is to use the surface of small particles, with dimensionson the order of 1 to about 100 nanometers, as the SERS active media foranalysis. These nanoparticles can produce large enhancements of theRaman scattering of an analyte when that analyte binds to the surface.The frequency at which one or several Raman bands is observed may beused to identify the chemical composition of the analyte and todistinguish it from other analytes that may bind to the SERS activesurface. The intensity of the Raman band may be related to the amount ofanalyte present. The SERS effect has a very unique capability fordetecting only species at or very near to the active surface. This meansthat properly constructed assays can proximally eliminate interferencesfrom other species.

Ten to twenty years ago a SERS assay would most likely have beenconsidered impractical because the instrumentation for Ramanspectroscopy was very large, delicate, and expensive. Recent advances inoptics, detectors, and lasers have made Raman systems small and compactenough for practical low-cost assays.

Modern methods of chemical analysis include wet chemistry, spectroscopy,chromatography, and electrochemistry. All of these methods vary in theamount of information that can be obtained in an analysis. For example,most electrochemical techniques measure current at a given appliedpotential. Such a technique would be considered poor in informationcontent. Many simple spectroscopic measurements are also made bymeasuring an optical signal at a single wavelength. For example,ultraviolet or visible absorption spectroscopy is often performed with alow-cost instrument that illuminates the sample with a small band ofwavelengths and the sample is quantitated using the linear relationshipbetween the amount of light absorbed and the concentration. This toowould constitute a technique that is poor in information content.

Cyanide analysis represents a good example of the problems with wetchemistry and electrochemical detection. Currently, the most popularmethod for cyanide measurement is a wet chemical method. It involves adye that changes color when silver ions are present. Silver ions alsoreact strongly with cyanide. The assay uses a solution with a knownsilver ion concentration to titrate an unknown sample of cyanide. Afterall silver ions in the known solution of silver ions have been complexedwith cyanide, the presence of free silver ions is indicated by a colorchange due to the dye. This method can produce a fairly accurateanalysis, but requires a significant amount of time to measure thecyanide concentration. Moreover, is highly subjective with regards tothe color change, if performed by a person. It is also subject to severeinterference from solutions that contain other species with complex withsilver ions. Cyanide is electrochemically active and can be detected inpure solutions by electrochemistry. However, as electrochemistry is verysensitive to contamination and does not provide a distinguishing signalbetween cyanide and interferences, it is subject to error.

Also, in the case of cyanide, the desired quantity is often “free”cyanide. This is cyanide that is not bound to a metal. Free cyanide ismost accurately measured by finding the “total” cyanide obtained bymixing the sample with a strong acid and collecting the evolved hydrogencyanide gas in a sodium hydroxide solution and measuring the cyanideconcentration in solution using the titration method described earlier.Next, a second measurement of the “wad” or weak acid dissociable cyanideis made by adding a weak acid to the sample and measuring the amount offree cyanide using the above titration method. The “free” cyanide in thesample is calculated by determining the difference between the totalcyanide and the wad cyanide. The total procedure is very time consuming,labor intensive, and uses dangerous reagents.

Cyanide in blood is also very difficult to measure. It binds to thehemoglobin in the blood and is also present as “free” cyanide in theserum. A common method for measuring cyanide in blood is to add a strongacid to produce hydrogen cyanide and to detect the hydrogen cyanide witha gas chromatograph. Given that death from cyanide poisoning can occurwithin minutes, such an analysis is not practical for diagnosis.

As demonstrated above, current methods for measuring cyanide are timeconsuming and often require several steps to produce a meaningful value.For first responders, such as emergency medical technicians, a rapidcyanide analysis is needed. Moreover, in view of the recent concernsabout chemical warfare, it would be even more advantageous to detect andprevent contact with cyanide before a blood analysis is needed.

Some modern methods of analysis are rich in information and providerapid results. For example, spectroscopy based on molecular vibrationstend to produce data that is composed of a signal spread over a largerange of wavelengths. This allows one to delineate the contribution ofmany analytes in the sample in a single spectrum. Two basic forms ofvibrational spectroscopy exist: infrared absorption and Ramanscattering. Infrared absorption spectroscopy measures the absorption ofinfrared radiation by molecules. The absorption occurs whenever theenergy of the radiation matches the energy of a molecular vibration inthe sample. Infrared absorption spectroscopy is rich in information, butcan be difficult to use as an analytical tool. The infrared radiation isstrongly absorbed by glass and other common optical materials. Thisrequires the samples to be contained in materials like potassiumbromide, which is very brittle and hard to shape into even the simplestsample container. This alone is a difficulty, but for quantitativeanalysis it is very difficult to control the thickness of the sample. Ifthe thickness is unknown it is impossible to relate the absorbance tothe concentration. Water is also a strong absorber of infrared radiationand interferes with analysis. This is particularly troublesome withaqueous samples.

Raman spectroscopy stems from the inelastic scattering of light bymolecular vibrational energy levels. Also termed Normal Ramanscattering, it is performed by exciting the sample with a strong opticalsource, usually a laser. The Raman scattered light is emitted from thesample and collected with an optical element, usually a lens. Oncecollected, the light is dispersed with a spectrometer and analyzed withan optical transducer. Raman spectroscopy, as an analytical tool, hasbeen known for decades, and is particularly popular for several reasons.For example, molecular composition can be determined in the presence ofwater. Visible light can be employed for analysis allowing for the useof conventional optical materials. Unique spectral fingerprints allowfor identification and quantification of a wide variety of solids,liquids, and gases. These advantages are overshadowed by an inherentlack of sensitivity of Raman scattering. This lack of sensitivity hasprecluded the use of Raman spectroscopy in application where low levelsof material need to be detected, however SERS spectroscopy provides themeans whereby it may be used in just such applications as describedherein.

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) like many scientificdiscoveries, evolved out of serendipitous events. In the early 1970's,electrochemists began using optical methods to study electrode surfaces.Fleischmann and Hendra decided to experiment with Raman spectroscopy asa method of analyzing electrode surfaces. Due to the low sensitivity ofRaman spectroscopy they chose silver as the electrode material since itis easily roughened by oxidation-reduction cycles in the presence ofchloride. The growth of silver chloride crystals and reduction back tosilver leads to a roughened surface with many times the surface area ofa smooth polished electrode. This will increase the Raman signal, asthere are more molecules in the laser beam. They chose pyridine as theprobe molecule as it should adsorb through the pyridine nitrogen and itis an inherently strong Raman scatterer. Their experiment was a success.They did not know it, but this was the first experiment using SERS. Itwas not until four years later that this experiment was correctlyinterpreted. In 1977, Van Duyne at Northwestern University was alsotrying to study electrodes with Raman spectroscopy. His approach was touse resonantly enhanced molecular probes to overcome the sensitivityproblem. Resonance Raman is an enhancement of Raman scattering achievedby exciting the molecule at a wavelength that matches an electronicabsorption of the molecule. He had performed calculations to determinethe amount of resonance enhancement needed to observe a monolayer on anelectrode. This number was at least 1000 for a strong scatterer likepyridine. This made Flieschmann and Hendra's results look anomalous. Totest if the enhancement was due to increased surface roughness, VanDuyne's student David Jeanmaire tried a milder oxidation-reduction cycleand achieved even stronger signals. This led to the first announcementof an anomalous phenomenon at silver surfaces.

It is now known that the SERS effect arises through an electromagneticresonance that can occur strongly in noble metal particles and to alesser extent in some other metals. The resonance occurs because theelectrons in the particle are affected by the excitation light toproduce a polarization in the particle that makes it more likely tobecome more polarized. This phenomenon will produce very large electricfields near the particle surface, thus amplifying optical events nearthe surface that are dependent on the electromagnetic field. Ramanscattering is just one class of such events. Others might includefluorescence and absorbance.

While SERS was discovered on electrode surfaces, it is not limited tothese. Today SERS is being performed on evaporated metal surfaces,etched metal foils, microlithographically produced surfaces, carefullyassembled particle arrays, and colloidal suspensions. Other methods,capable of producing small submicron sized particles or features on asurface, also provide various SERS active surfaces.

Several problems have plagued the development of SERS into a practicalanalytical tool. One such problem is the delicate nature of the SERSsubstrate. The SERS phenomenon is associated with particles or roughnessfeatures that are about 1/10 the size of the wavelength of the lightused for excitation or about 40 to 100 nanometers. Particles of thissize are very susceptible to chemical damage, aggregation, andphotodamage.

A survey of the different SERS substrates produces one type that standsout with respect to practical analytical chemistry. These are colloidalsuspensions. Two significant advantages are found with colloidalsuspensions. First, a large volume of colloidal particles can be made atone time. Within this batch of colloids, every sample will be identical.This overcomes the irreproducibility of non-free floating particulatesurfaces. The second advantage is that the colloidal particles aresuspended in a solution and therefore tend to be much less susceptibleto thermal damage. They also are subject to Brownian motion, which tendsto continually refresh the particles in the excitation beam, thuseliminating problems with photodegradation of the sample.

Initially SERS was seen as advantageous because of its strongenhancement. This invention realizes a different aspect of SERS. Thelocalization of the SERS enhancement near the surface very effectivelyseparates the analyte that is in close proximity with the surface fromanalyte or other material in the sample matrix. The locality of theanalyte can be used to a strong advantage with respect to the ease ofanalysis. SERS allows one to measure an analyte in the presence ofspecies that would strongly interfere and cripple other methods ofanalysis that do not have a localized area of detection.

In addition to problems with SERS substrate stability andreproducibility, an additional factor needs to be included in theanalysis. The SERS substrates are typically noble metal particles. Thenoble metals are aptly named for their ability to resist the aggressionsof other materials. In a practical sense this is good for stability ofthe surfaces, but is impractical in terms of attracting an analyte tothe surface. In order for the SERS substrate to act as a tool fordetecting an analyte, it must attract the analyte to the surface or insome way be specifically affected by the analyte to show a spectroscopicresponse.

Small nanoparticles of gold and silver react with some chemical speciesto create a strongly bound surface complex. This complex may be observedspectroscopically as a bound species. A condition for the observation ofthe bound species is the ability to distinguish between thesurface-bound species and solution species or other interferences. Thisdistinction often requires both a selectivity aspect related to therelationship between the energy of the light affected by thespectroscopic measurement and the intensity of the light affecting thespectroscopic measurement.

With respect to cyanide and related species, the noble metals gold andsilver tend to form very strong complexes with these species. Insolution or in the air, particles of silver or gold tend to bind cyanidevery strongly to give a surface coating composed of metal cyanidecomplexes.

One example of a spectroscopic technique is Raman spectroscopy, which isvery specific in its ability to measure between complexed and solutionspecies or differences between cyanide species. Moreover, SERS is verysurface specific, such that it can identify between solution and surfacebound species.

The SERS phenomenon is electromagnetic and at times may also be due tothe formation of a surface bound chemical species that isspectroscopically unique and distinguishes itself to provide anindication of the presence of the surface species. For example, theformation of a complex that has an electronic absorption may lend itselfto detection through UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence, orresonance Raman spectroscopy.

Often both the electromagnetic enhancement and the additional chemicalenhancement require the addition of special agents. These agents maychange the morphology of the surface to produce a size or shape that ismore conducive to the electromagnetic SERS effect or they may form mixedcomplexes with the analyte (cyanide or related species) to produce aproduct (complex) with a unique electronic absorption. The morphology ofSERS active surfaces is crucial for large enhancements. A popular formof a SERS active medium is colloidal particles. These are sphericalparticles that tend to be so small that they do not aggregate or settleout of solution.

The advantage of colloidal particles is their stability due to lack ofaggregation and resistance to settlement due to their small size andcontinual movement due to Brownian motion. This can also be adisadvantage with respect to SERS. SERS comes largely from theelectromagnetic enhancement of light at the particle surfaces. However,this enhancement is strongly dependent on the shape and size of theparticle. Spherical particles tend to enhance light at shortwavelengths. This can be impractical as laser sources are more commonand more intense at longer wavelengths. If the particles becomeellipsoidal in shape they exhibit an enhancement at both shortwavelengths and longer wavelengths. This arises from the long (longwavelength enhancement) axis and the short (short wavelengthenhancement) axis. Furthermore, as the particles become larger, theenhancement is shifted to longer wavelengths.

Up until now, the of detection cyanide and species reactive toward SERSactive surfaces has been though direct adsorption to the SERS activesurface or through the formation of bonds to a surface bound coating.This is often a sacrificial situation with the actual materialresponsible for the SERS effect being consumed by the detection method.A more favorable detection method would be to provide a solution speciesthat reacts with the cyanide or related species and then adsorbs to theSERS active surface. This creates a surface species that relates to thecyanide or related species, but it does not consume the SERS activematerial.

Sometimes a sample contains more than one species (interferers) that canreact with an activated SERS surface. At low levels of interferers, itmay be possible to spectroscopically distinguish between them and theanalyte. However, the amount of surface area available for analysis islimited and the interferers may occupy all sites available for analytebinding. Another situation might be a reaction between the interferersand the activated SERS material to render the SERS active materialinactive. In such cases, it may be possible to convert the analyte to agas and detect it as an adsorbed gas on the activated SERS surface. Inthis type of analysis, the interferers are left in solution and cannotinteract with the spatially separated SERS active surfaces. An exampleof this type of analysis would be samples containing cyanide andinterferers such as thiocyanate or blood metabolites. The sample couldbe treated with a sufficiently strong acid to produce hydrogen cyanide,but not strong enough to produce volatile sulfur containing species. Anaccurate assay can be performed if the activated SERS surface is locateda distance from the solution such that the hydrogen cyanide can adsorbto the surface, but not the interferers in solution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention includes a variety of aspects, which may beselected in different combinations based upon the particular applicationor needs to be addressed. One aspect of the invention is the use ofadditive or reagents to activate a surface to be reactive toward achemical and/or a species related to the chemical. This aspect of thisinvention involves the addition of an activator to a surface or to asolution of nanoparticles to cause them to form a better shape or sizefor realizing strong surface enhancements.

Another aspect of the present invention is the addition of an activationagent, which based on the application, may lead to improved signals bymeans other than or in addition to shape or size improvement ofnanoparticles for surface enhanced Raman assays. This aspect involvesthe use of an activating agent that, when present with a chemical and/ora species related to the chemical, produces a complex on the surfacecapable of surface enhanced Raman, which produces a noticeably strongerRaman signal.

Another aspect of the present invention is an agent to improve the assayof a chemical and/or a species related to the chemical. This aspectinvolves the addition of a material that stabilizes the surface withrespect to surface enhancement. There are two subcategories of thesestabilizing agents. First, there is a category of stabilizing agentsthat halt the activation process to keep the activation agents fromchanging the shape or size of nanoparticles so much that they no longerproduce surface enhancement. Second, is a stabilizing agent thatprevents the analyte from adversely affecting the size and shape of asurface capable of producing surface enhanced Raman scattering. Cyanideand related species fall into this class of analyte. This secondcategory of stabilizing agents provides protection of the metal surfaceto prevent dissolution by the chemical and/or the species related to thechemical.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is the use of a sacrificialagent to prevent the metal surface, which is capable of surfaceenhancement, from being dissolved or adversely affected by the presenceof a chemical and/or a species related to the chemical. For example,silver nitrate may be added to the assay to react with cyanide and/or aspecies related to cyanide before it can adversely affect the surfaces.In this case, the cyanide or related species that may be harmful to thesurface has been converted into a silver complex that is harmless to thesurface, yet produces a large signal when adsorbed to the surface.

A further aspect of the present invention is the production of a gaseousform of a chemical and/or a species related to the chemical to enabledetection. This aspect of the invention addresses two difficulties thatcan occur with the assay for the chemical and/or the species related tothe chemical. First, is the difficulty presented when the chemicaland/or the species related to the chemical is weakly bound to anotherspecies in the sample. This difficulty may prevent the chemical and/orthe species related to the chemical from coming into contact or bindingwith the surface capable of surface enhancement. This particular aspectof the assay involves the addition of a material that releases thechemical and/or the species related to the chemical into the gas phasewhere it can be detected with a surface capable of producing surfaceenhanced Raman scattering. Second, is the difficulty presented byinterferences. In many samples, a species will be present that may bindto the surface capable of surface enhanced Raman scattering and preventthe chemical and/or the species related to the chemical from binding orcoming in contact with the surface. The gaseous form of the chemicaland/or the species related to the chemical produced according to thisinvention will separate the chemical and/or the species related to thechemical from the interfering species that are in the sample solution.This feature of the chemical and/or the species related to the chemicalgas phase may also eliminate the possibility of interference due toother difficulties, such as fluorescence, in the sample.

Still, another aspect of the present invention is the use of a barrierbetween the sample and the surface capable of surface enhancement toallow the gaseous form of the analyte to interact with the surface whileprohibiting the sample solution from interacting with the surface. Inaccordance with this aspect, a gas permeable barrier is utilized, whicheither mechanically, with size selection or chemically, with chemicalselection, passes a gaseous form of the chemical and/or the speciesrelated to the chemical, but prevents the solution form of the samplefrom passing.

Still yet another aspect of the present invention is a kit capable ofdetecting a chemical and/or a species related to the chemical. The kitmay include activation agents, stabilizing agents, agents to release thechemical and/or the species related to the chemical from a samplesolution as a gaseous material, and a gas permeable barrier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a surface enhanced Raman spectrum of cyanide adsorbed to agold colloidal surface.

FIG. 2 is a plot showing the concentration of cyanide in solution aspredicted by a model created from the surface enhanced Raman scatteringintensity versus the actual concentration.

FIG. 3 is a plot of an overlay of surface enhanced Raman scatteringspectra of cyanide on gold colloid.

FIG. 4 is a plot illustrating the signal improvement with an activatingagent.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are plots illustrating the use of anactivation/sacrificial agent.

FIG. 6 is a plot illustrating an assay of cyanide with a gas permeablebarrier and a releasing agent.

FIG. 7 is a plot illustrating the detection of cyanide in saliva.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a kit for achemical and/or a species related to the chemical assay.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of a kit for achemical and/or a species related to the chemical assay.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an assay method and kit for detecting achemical and/or a species related to the chemical (hereinafter chemicalor the related species) using a metal surface that maintains or produceslarge enhancements of the Raman scattering (surface enhance RamanScattering or SERS) when the chemical or the related species binds(adsorbed) to the metal surface. The present invention is especiallyuseful for detecting cyanide and/or a species related to cyanide, andtherefore, will be described as it relates to same. One of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that the present invention may beuseful for detecting other chemicals and/or their related species.

As is well known, cyanide exits in many forms. Accordingly, the term“cyanide,” as used herein, may refer to the many forms of cyanide. Oneform of cyanide is free cyanide, which has an accepted meaning thatrefers to the anionic form of cyanide or in other words, CN⁻. Anothercommon form of cyanide is a weakly bound cyanide and metal ion complex.In some industries this form of cyanide is called Weak Acid Dissociable(WAD) cyanide, to denote its ability to be dissociated from the metalwith a weak acid. Cyanide can also be bound very strongly to somemetals. In this case, it is only dissociable with a strong acid. Yetanother form of cyanide is hydrogen cyanide. Hydrogen cyanide is a gas,though it may exist as a gas dissolved in a liquid.

The phrase “related species,” as used herein, refers to cyanide-likespecies that often exhibit properties similar to cyanide, with respectto the addition of silver or gold nanoparticles. For example,thiocyanate is similar to cyanide, but has an additional sulfur atom inits molecular formula. Its interaction with gold or silver nanoparticlesis likewise very similar to cyanide. Another related species would becompounds that contain sulfur and which bind to silver in a similarlystrong fashion. A practical, related species would be a mustard agentthat could be used as a weapon of mass destruction and which contains asulfur atom that can bind strongly to a silver or gold nanoparticle.

One aspect of the present invention is the use of nanoparticles as theSERS producing metal surface. As used herein, the term nanoparticles mayrefer to a single nanoparticle, an aggregate of nanoparticles, orroughness features on a surface that have a size and shape that producesenhanced Raman scattering. A nanoparticle may have a diametricaldimension between about 1 nanometer and about 1000 nanometers. Thenanoparticles (or nanoparticle) may be in a solution, on a surface, orin a lyophilized form that can be reconstituted to provide a solution.

Nanoparticles are utilized in the present invention because they producean enhanced SERS signal when cyanide and related species is adsorbed tothe nanoparticle surface. The enhancement is generally believed to be anelectromagnetic phenomenon related to the size, shape, and dielectriccharacteristics of the metal. A chemical enhancement is also believed tooccur in cases where the adsorbate and the metal form a new species thathas better Raman scattering signal than the adsorbate alone. Thenanoparticles are preferably composed of silver, gold, or copper, or anycombination thereof, because these metals produce the strongestenhancements. Of these three metals, silver and gold are most preferredas copper is less practical to use, due to its reactivity to oxygen.Although silver and gold metal are most preferred in the presentinvention, other metals that exhibit the SERS effect may be used. Forexample, alkali metals have been reported to produce strong SERSsignals, but are generally impractical due to their very high chemicalreactivity. Platinum has also been reported to produce a SERS effect,but it is currently, a weaker effect than that found for silver or gold.

The nanoparticles utilized in the present invention, may be produced bya wide variety of methods. For, example, the nanoparticles may beproduced by reducing silver or gold ions in a solution to generate aclumping of silver or gold atoms. As the clumping or aggregationcontinues, the atoms grow into particles of the proper size (about 1nanometer to about 1000 nanometers is diameter) and spherical orelliptical shape to produce the SERS effect.

The nanoparticles may be produced in a solution that contains a speciesthat adsorbs to the surface of the nanoparticle to produce anelectrostatic charge. The electrostatic charge on the nanoparticlesprevents them from aggregating, thereby forming a colloidal suspensionthat has long term stability due to particle charging. This maintainsthe nanoparticles in solution for long or even indefinite periods fortime. In one exemplary embodiment, a colloidal suspension ofnanoparticles may be produced by reducing silver or gold ions with areducing species, such as a citrate. The citrate plays a duel role, asit operates as the reducing agent and as the adsorbate that produces thecharge on the nanoparticles. Typically, the metal ion solution and acitrate solution are mixed, stirred, and heated to cause the formationof the nanoparticles. The size of the nanoparticles can be controlled bythe conditions of the reaction. These conditions may include heatingtime, temperature, degree of stirring, method of addition of the citrateto the solution, and reagent concentrations. In another embodiment, acolloidal suspension of silver nanoparticles may be produced using avery concentrated silver nitrate solution. The silver nanoparticles ofthe resulting colloidal suspension are likewise very concentrated. Sucha colloidal suspension is especially suited for detecting forms ofcyanide and related species that have the ability to dissolve the silvernanoparticles, as the high concentration of silver nanoparticles hasmore surface area to react with the cyanide and related species.

The nanoparticles may be produced by other methods including, withoutlimitation, evaporation of metal to produce thin films that exhibit theSERS effect, and treatments to metal surfaces that produce a roughnessthat mimics the size and shape of a nanoparticle. In one embodiment,silver or gold may be evaporated onto a surface to produce a thin filmformed by a plurality of nanoparticle islands on the surface. Likewise,the evaporation may be made onto a surface that, inherently or bymicrolithographic procedures, has a roughness that produces the SERSeffect when it is coated with a metal film. Surface treatments that maybe used to produce the SERS effect include, without limitation,roughening of a surface of the metal, e.g., silver, gold, by mechanicalabrasion, chemical etching, or electrochemical treatments. A chemicaletch which may be used includes nitric acid that etches away theportions of a surface of the metal to produce roughness features. Anelectrochemical treatment that may be used includes, for example, theoxidation of a surface of the metal followed by reduction with one ormore cycles. The one or more oxidation-reduction cycles produceroughness features that exhibit large SERS signals. In a preferredembodiment, a solution containing chloride ions may be used as anoxidant during the one or more oxidation-reduction cycles. The chlorideions react with the metal surface to produce metal chloride (e.g.,silver chloride, gold chloride) microcrystals on the metal surface. Whenthe microcrystals are reduced back to the metallic state they tend tohave dimensions of 1-1000 nanometers in diameter that are appropriatefor the SERS effect.

A high concentration of cyanide may be detected in the present inventionusing a solution that contains a large quantity of nanoparticles.However, due to the dissolution of the nanoparticles by the cyanide, themixture may be unstable. The mixture may be made stable by maintainingthe cyanide concentration are a low level relative to the surface areaof the nanoparticles. This may be accomplished in the present inventionby increasing the quantity of nanoparticles in the test solution. Thisincreases the surface area and reduces rate at which the cyanide candissolve the nanoparticles. A preferred method for increasing thequantity of nanoparticles is to provide them a colloid form as a“strong” colloid. A strong colloid has a much higher nanoparticleconcentration. It has been observed that the strong colloid canwithstand more concentrated cyanide solutions.

In a less desirable embodiment, the problem of mixture stability withhigh concentrations cyanide, may be overcome by measuring the SERSsignal rapidly enough to avoid significant signal changes due to thedissolution of the nanoparticles by the cyanide or follow the rate atwhich the SERS signal is lost and relate that to the concentration ofthe cyanide.

The strong colloid may be provided as an immobilized colloidalsuspension. For example, the strong colloid may be provided as alyophilized aliquot of nanoparticles. This method has the advantage thatthe lyophilized aliquot of colloidal nanoparticles may be reconstitutedto give a SERS active colloidal solution. The reconstituting solutionmay include a sample to be tested. In addition, the colloidal suspensionmay take the form of simple evaporated solutions on a surface. They mayalso include surfaces that are reactive to the nanoparticles and havethe ability to chemical adsorb the nanoparticles from a solution.

The above discussion is supplemented by FIGS. 1-3. FIG. 1 shows asurface enhanced Raman spectrum of cyanide adsorbed to a goldnanoparticle surface. The solution concentration of the cyanide was 100parts per billion.

FIG. 2 is a plot illustrating the concentration of cyanide in solutionas predicted by a model created from the surface enhanced Ramanscattering intensity versus the actual concentration. The R² value of0.991 is indicative of an excellent correlation between the modelpredictions and the actual concentrations.

FIG. 3 is a plot illustrating an overlay of surface enhanced Ramanscattering spectra of cyanide on gold nanoparticles which shows therelationship between intensity and concentration and illustrates theinstability of an assay for cyanide over a large concentration range.These spectra span a very large range of concentrations. The highestconcentration, 350 parts per million, produces the lowest signal. Thehighest signal is observed from an intermediate concentration of 3.5parts per million.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the nanoparticles may beprovided in solution form. In a solution containing silver or gold ions,it is known that cyanide prefers to bind to the silver or gold ions by14 or more orders of magnitude. It is thought that the surface of ananoparticle is likewise attractive to cyanide and will react with thesame propensity as ions. There is evidence for this in the similaritybetween the spectroscopy of cyanide adsorbed to a nanoparticle surfaceand spectroscopy of the metal/cyanide complex. In this embodiment, theSERS effect is realized through cyanide's natural propensity to adsorbto metal nanoparticle surfaces. The SERS effect produces a very largespectroscopic signal due to the adsorbed cyanide or related species.When silver colloidal solutions are used, detection levels from highparts per billion to high parts per million are observed. Gold, whichhas a much higher affinity for cyanide, detects cyanide from the highpart per trillion to low part per million level. This embodiment of theinvention may be very useful when the sample is relatively clean anddoes not possess strongly interfering species.

In another aspect of the present invention, additives may be used toenhance the SERS signal. In one embodiment, an activating agent may beutilized to significantly enhance the SERS signal from a solutioncontaining cyanide and a nanoparticle suspension. This is particularlyuseful when detection levels are needed to be very low. The activatingagent may be an additive that causes an elongated aggregation of thenanoparticles. It is believed that the SERS signal from an elongatedaggregation of nanoparticles will be larger than the SERS signal from asingle nanoparticle. This has been explained by current theories thatdescribe SERS as an electromagnetic effect that depends on the size andshape of the nanoparticles. This theory states that elliptical particleswill produce larger enhancements. Two or more nanoparticles coupled in achain would represent an elliptical particle.

FIG. 4 is a graph that illustrates the signal improvement with anactivating agent additive. In this case the solution concentration ofcyanide is 35 parts per billion. It can be seen that without theactivating agent, sodium chloride, that no signal is observed forcyanide. However, upon addition of a small concentration of sodiumchloride a very strong signal is observed.

The activating agent may also interact with the cyanide or relatedspecies on the surface of the metal nanoparticle to produce a largersurface enhancement. This has been observed when activating agent, suchas chloride, increase signals from adsorbates on solid surfaces. Sincethe surface is not mobile and the formation of chains cannot occur, thesignal increase cannot be due to morphological changes. In this case, itis believed that the activating agent is enhancing the SERS signalproduced by the adsorbed species, not improving the enhancement producedby the nanoparticle. Chloride is only one example of an activating agentthat may be used in the present invention to increase the SERS signal.Further activating agents that may be used in the present inventioninclude, without limitation, other halides or species that causenanoparticles to aggregate or which form complexes with cyanide andrelated species.

As discussed earlier, an activating agent may be used to enhance theSERS signal by coupling the nanoparticles together to produce a chain.This coupling is only beneficial to the extent that the nanoparticlesstay in solution. As the chains get longer they tend to fall out ofsolution, thus reducing the SERS signal and causing the assay result tono longer be accurate. Thus, another additive that may be utilized inthe present invention to enhance or prevent a loss in the SERS signal isa stabilizing agent, i.e., a material that prevents or at least reducesexcessive aggregation of the nanoparticles or prevents a loss of theSERS signal due to sample interferences, such as salts which can adsorbto the nanoparticles and cause them to aggregate. In one embodiment, thestabilizing agent may be a surfactant, such aspolyoxyethylene(10)isooctylphenylether, which is sold under thetradename Triton X. The polyoxyethylene(10)isooctylphenylethersurfactant operates by binding to the nanoparticles and preventing theiraggregation. Similar surfactants may also increase the viscosity of thesolution and prevent or slow down the coupling of nanoparticles. Thistype of a stabilizing agent affects the nanoparticles.

Another type of a stabilizing agent that may be used as an additive inthe present invention is an interactive stabilizing agent, i.e., aspecies that interacts with the cyanide or related species to prevent itfrom rendering the nanoparticles inactive. One example of an interactivestabilizing agent that may be utilized in the present invention issilver nitrate. In a nanoparticle solution, silver nitrate has no effecton the nanoparticles, but it will react with a cyanide or relatedspecies. With cyanide, silver nitrate reacts with at least two cyanidesto produce a negatively charged metal complex. This complex has anaffinity for the nanoparticle surface, but is not likely to render thesurface inactive. The signal from the silver cyanide complex may be usedto detect and/or quantitate cyanide in the solution. As one of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate, any metal that reacts with cyanide andits related species may be used in the present invention as theinteractive stabilizing agent.

Another type of additive that may be utilized in the present inventionto enhance the SERS signal is a sacrificial agent. If the solutioncontains a species that has a large affinity for the nanoparticles or insome way renders the nanoparticles inactive, the sacrificial agent maybe used to remove that species. The sacrificial agent is, therefore, amaterial that will react with a species in the sample to prevent thesame species from interfering with the nanoparticles. The interferingspecies may be silver or gold ions in solution that reacts with cyanideor a related species, thereby preventing the cyanide or related speciesfrom dissolving the nanoparticles. A common interfering species in amining solution might be sulfide or other sulfur related species. Thesulfide or other sulfur related species has a large affinity for thenanoparticles and will render them inactive. This can be prevented orreduced by the addition of a sacrificial agent, such as zinc ions, thathave a very high affinity for sulfur species. The zinc preferentiallyremoves the interfering species from solution. In some embodiments, thesacrificial agent may also act like an activating agent by reacting withthe cyanide or related species and then adsorbing to the nanoparticlesurface to produce a signal related to the presence and concentration ofcyanide or a related species. For example, silver nitrate, describedearlier as an activating agent, may be used to prevent large amounts ofcyanide from rendering the nanoparticles inactive and therefore may beconsidered a sacrificial agent.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are plots illustrating the use of anactivation/stabilization agent. In this case, the activating agent issilver nitrate. FIG. 5A is a plot showing the correlation between themodel predictions and actual concentration of cyanide on a silversurface capable of surface enhancement. The concentrations are quitehigh, indicating that the silver surface has a lower affinity forcyanide and is less susceptible to dissolution. FIG. 5B is a plotshowing the same silver surface in the presence of silver nitrate. Inthis case, the concentration range is much lower, due to the formationof a complex between the activator, silver ions, and cyanide. It wasobserved that the amount of silver nitrate could be adjusted to expandthe range of detectable cyanide. In this case, the activator is bothimproving the signal and acting as a sacrificial agent by allowing it toreact with cyanide before the cyanide can dissolve the silver surfacecapable of surface enhancement.

In yet another embodiment, the additive may be a releasing agent, suchas an acid, that selectively converts the cyanide into a gaseous form,such as hydrogen cyanide, which is then detected after its removal orrelease from the solution. This is useful when the sample containscyanide in a bound form or the solution contains interfering species.Several examples of this have been tested. One is the detection of WADcyanide, which is a form of cyanide that is weakly bound to metal ionsand can be released as hydrogen cyanide by a weak acid. In a solutionthat contains WAD cyanide it is possible to add a weak acid and collectthe cyanide as a gaseous species on an immobilized nanoparticle surfaceor though a nanoparticle solution. Another application where theformation of gaseous hydrogen cyanide is useful is when the samplecontains interfering species. For example, many mining solutions containsulfur compounds. It is possible to make these solutions sufficientlyacidic to remove the cyanide as hydrogen cyanide, but to leave thesulfur species in solution. Yet another example is cyanide in blood.When cyanide is in blood it binds to the iron in hemoglobin. This formof cyanide can be released as a gas by adding an acid to the bloodsolution and capturing the cyanide on an immobilized nanoparticle or ananoparticle solution.

Another aspect of the present invention is a barrier that prevents thesample (a solution) or an interfering species from contacting thenanoparticles, which may be immobilized. This may achieved in oneembodiment using a gas permeable membrane that allows gaseous forms ofthe cyanide or related species to pass through and bind with thenanoparticles, but prevents a solution and any interfering species inthe solution from passing through and contacting the nanoparticles. Sucha membrane may be made of a porous hydrophobic material, such as Teflon,that resists aqueous solutions, but allow gases, such as hydrogencyanide, to pass though.

FIG. 6 is a plot showing an assay of cyanide using a Teflon barrier anda boric acid releasing agent. The boric acid causes cyanomethemoglobinto give up its cyanide as hydrogen cyanide gas. The hydrogen cyanide gaspasses through the Teflon barrier, which has pores large enough to passthe hydrogen cyanide gas molecules, but is resistant to passing thesolution. The surface capable of surface enhancement was comprised ofgold nanoparticles deposited onto the Teflon membrane. Such an assay isespecially useful for measuring cyanide in a patient's blood.

FIG. 7 is a plot showing the use of the present invention to detectcyanide in saliva. The top spectrum is from the saliva of a cigarettesmoker and shows cyanide and a related species, thiocyanate. The bottomspectrum is from the saliva of a nonsmoker and shows only thiocyanate.

Another aspect of the present invention is a kit for measuring the Ramansignal from a sample. The kit comprises a combination of nanoparticlesand additives (reagents) that when mixed with a sample cause the cyanideor related species to interact with the nanoparticles.

FIG. 8 illustrates a first embodiment of the kit 100 of the presentinvention for a cyanide assay. The kit 100 comprises a tube 120containing one or more reagents 140 and metal (e.g., silver, gold)nanoparticles 160. The reagents 140 and nanoparticles 160 may beprovided as a solution or desiccated. If desiccated, the reagents 140and nanoparticles 160 will be reconstituted with a sample 180. Uponreconstitution or mixing of reagent 140 and nanoparticle 160 solutionswith the sample 180, cyanide within the sample 180 will adhere to thenanoparticles 160. This binding event creates a solution that willexhibit very strong Raman scattering (SERS) that may be detected withinstrumentation for Raman spectroscopy. The detected SERS signal may beused to determine the concentration of the cyanide.

FIG. 9 illustrates a second embodiment of the kit of the presentinvention for a cyanide assay. The kit 200 is comprised of a tube 220that contains a release agent 240, a stirring rod 250, and a gaspermeable membrane 255 that is coated on the top surface with metal(e.g. silver, gold) nanoparticles 260. A sample 280 (e.g., blood) isplaced in the tube 220, perhaps by capillary action, and sealed with amaterial 270, such as Critoseal. When the sample 280 is mixed with thereleasing agent 240 the gaseous form of cyanide, hydrogen cyanide, isformed and passes through the membrane 255 and reacts with the metalparticles 260. The assay is measured by acquiring a Raman spectrum fromthe cyanide adsorbed to the metal surface.

EXAMPLES

1a) Preparation of Silver Colloids: Silver colloids were prepared by amodified procedure of Lee and Meisel (P C Lee; D Meisel, J. Phys. Chem.,1982, 86, 3391). Silver nitrate (90 mg) was added to a 1000 mLErlenmeyer flask containing 500 mL distilled water. While stirring thissolution was heated to boiling. A 10 mL aliquot of an aqueous sodiumcitrate (1%) was added. Boiling and stirring were continued for 30minutes, during which time the solution changed color from transparentgold to opaque yellow greenish color. The flash was removed from theheat source and the solution allowed to cool while stirring. The volumewas adjusted with distilled water to makeup for fluid loss during theheating process, typically 100 mL. The colloid suspension was store in aNalgene container at room temperature.

1b) Preparation of Strong Colloidal Silver: A mass of 0.800 g silvernitrate (99.999%) was dissolved in 0.800 L Millipore water contained ina specially cleaned Erlenmeyer 1 L flask. The solution was brought to aboil under rapid heating conditions and moderate stirring ofapproximately 100 rpm using a 50 mm Teflon stir bar. Upon boiling, a 25cm thistle tube was inserted tightly in one hole of a 2-hole neoprenestopper having an enlarged second hole to vent excessive pressure. Thisapparatus was fitted on the flask, ensuring the thistle tube extendedbelow the level of the solution. An aqueous sodium citrate solution (1%w/v) was freshly prepared from the dihydrate salt. Ten milliliteraliquots were added to the thistle tube and allowed to empty into thesolution until an 88.9 mL volume of sodium citrate was dispensed. Thethistle tube and stopper were removed and replaced with a watch glass.The solution was allowed to boil gently for an additional 1 hour withstirring. After the solution reached room temperature, the colloidalsolution was vacuumed filtered through a 25 mm Whatman GFA filter. A0.02 M solution of silver nitrate (19 mL) was added to the colloid, andthe volume adjusted to 1 L. The strong colloidal solution was stored inan amber glass bottle until use.

1c) Preparation of Gold Colloids: Gold colloids were prepared by amodified procedure of Frens (G Frens, Natural Physical Science, 1973,241, 20). An aqueous hydrogen tetrachloroaurate trihydrate solution(0.01%, 50 mL) was heated to boiling in an Erlenmeyer flask. To the goldchloride solution was added 0.20 mL of an aqueous sodium citratesolution (1%). Heating and stirring was continued for 40 minute duringwhich time the solution changed color from clear to purple. Goldcolloidal suspensions were stored in a brown Nalgene container at roomtemperature.

2a) Preparation of Potassium Cyanide Standards: Potassium cyanidestandards were prepared by first making an aqueous stock solution of1000 parts per million (ppm) potassium cyanide by dissolving 1 mgpotassium cyanide in 1 mL distilled water. Less concentrated standardswere prepared from this stock solution by diluting the appropriatealiquot of stock solution with distilled water for the desiredconcentration range.

2b) Preparation of Cyanide Standards: Cyanide standards were prepared byfirst making an aqueous stock solution of 1000 ppm cyanide by dissolving1.89 mg potassium cyanide in 1 mL distilled water. Less concentratedstandards were prepared from this stock solution by diluting theappropriate aliquot of stock solution with distilled water for thedesired concentration range.

2c) Preparation of Cyanide Standards: Cyanide standards were prepared byfirst making an aqueous stock solution of sodium hydroxide (1.5%). Thecyanide stock solution (1000 ppm) was prepared by dissolving 1.89 mgpotassium cyanide in 1 mL of the sodium hydroxide (1.5%) stock solution.Less concentrated standards were prepared from this stock solution bydiluting the appropriate aliquot of cyanide stock solution with aqueoussodium hydroxide (1.5%) for the desired concentration range.

2d) Preparation of Cyanide Standards: Cyanide standards were prepared byfirst making an aqueous stock solution of sodium bicarbonate (1%). Thecyanide stock solution (1000 ppm) was prepared by dissolving 1.89 mgpotassium cyanide in 1 mL of the sodium bicarbonate (1%) stock solution.Less concentrated standards were prepared from this stock solution bydiluting the appropriate aliquot of cyanide stock solution with aqueoussodium bicarbonate (1%) for the desired concentration range.

3) Preparation of Acid Buffers: pH 2 buffer was prepared by dissolvingone capsule of pre-measured pHydrion buffer (Metrepak) in 100 mLdistilled. Capsule contains potassium biphthalate and sulphamic acid.

4) Preparation of Acid Solution: An acidic solution of pH 4.5 wasprepared by dissolving 600 mg boric acid in 100 mL distilled water.

5) Sample Treatment with Modified Silver Colloid: In a 2 mL sample vial,25 μL of sample was mixed with 50 μL of 3.27 M silver nitrate. Thesample was vortexed for 5 seconds, followed by the immediate addition of1 mL of strong silver colloid and mixed for an additional 5 seconds. ASERS spectrum was immediately acquired with an integration time of 10seconds.

6a) Blood/Cyanide Assay in vials: To each 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tubewas added 1 mL whole blood. This was followed by addition of 10 μLpotassium cyanide/water standard, cyanide/water standard, cyanide/sodiumhydroxide standard, or cyanide/sodium bicarbonate standard. For assay,50 μL of blood/cyanide was added to 500 μL gold colloid in a 1 mLautosampler vial, mixed gently, and spectrum acquired with Ramaninstrument with a 1-30 second integration time.

6b) Saliva/Cyanide Assay in vials: To each 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tubewas added 1 mL saliva. This was followed by addition of 10 μL potassiumcyanide/water standard, cyanide/water standard, cyanide/sodium hydroxidestandard, or cyanide/sodium bicarbonate standard. For assay, 50 μL ofsaliva/cyanide was added to 500 μL gold colloid in a 1 mL autosamplervial, mixed gently, and spectrum acquired with Raman instrument with a1-30 second integration time.

7) Preparation of gold colloid coated gas permeable membrane: A PTFE gaspermeable, hydrophobic membrane (GoreTex, WL Gore & Associates) andMillipore PTFE gas permeable, hydrophobic, 0.45 μL filters were used forfabrication of gold colloid coated membrane for HCN gas detection. Themembranes were coated with 60 μL gold colloid suspension by desiccatingaliquots (20 μL) of the colloid suspension onto the surface by dryingunder the heat of a desk lamp. The membrane was cut into 0.5×0.5 cmsquares, each square containing 60 μL of desiccated gold colloid. Themembrane squares were then affixed to the end of a blood collecting tubeand stored in an airtight container at room temperature until use.

8) Fabrication of blood/cyanide and saliva/cyanide assay tubes: To eachblood collecting tube was added 50 mL of pH 2 buffer or pH 4.5 boricacid solution. To each of these tubes was added a length (0.75 mm×0.5cm) of wire rod, which will be used to mix the reagents after additionof the sample. The tubes were placed in an oven 100° C. overnight.Prepared tubes were returned to an airtight container and stored at roomtemperature until use.

9a) Blood/Cyanide Assay in blood collecting tubes: An assay consisted ofdrawing up sample, blood/cyanide standard, into the tube by capillaryaction. The open end of the tube was then sealed with Critoseal. A smallmagnet was used to move the wire rod through the tube thereby mixing thereagent with the sample. After 60 seconds of mixing the assay tube wasplaced in the sample holder of the Raman instrument and a spectrumacquired of the gold particles on the membrane. HCN gas is released byaction of the reagent on the blood bound cyanide.

9b) Saliva/Cyanide Assay in blood collecting tubes: An assay consistedof drawing up sample, saliva/cyanide standard, into the tube bycapillary action. The open end of the tube was then sealed withCritoseal. A small magnet was used to move the wire rod through the tubethereby mixing the reagent with the sample. After 60 seconds of mixingthe assay tube was placed in the sample holder of the Raman instrumentand a spectrum acquired of the gold particles on the membrane. HCN gasis released by action of the reagent on the cyanide containing saliva.

10a) Time Delay Experiments Before Recording SERS Spectra: The kineticeffects alter the SERS spectral intensity of a silver nitrate modifiedcolloid solution, therefore, a two stage autopipettor was used todraw-up and deliver the reagents for assay. First, 700 μL of a stirringsolution of silver nitrate modified colloid was drawn up, followed by anair space, then 70 μL of sample was drawn. The contents of the pipettetip were dispensed into a 1 mL glass vial. The Raman instrument wasinitiated within 1-2 seconds of the pipetting task and spectra acquiredunder a 5 second integration scheme. Sampling and data acquisition wasrepeated using 30, 60, 90, and 180 second wait times.

10b) Comparison of Silver Nitrate Reagent to Standard Titration Samples:An aliquot of 0.0200M silver nitrate solution (20 μL) was added to amixture of 0.5 mL of silver colloid containing 20 μL of 50 ppm freecyanide. An enhanced SERS spectrum was observed in comparison to a SERSspectrum obtained by having no silver nitrate added.

While the foregoing invention has been described with reference to theabove, various modifications and changes can be made without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, all such modificationsand changes are considered to be within the scope of the appendedclaims.

1. A kit for detecting at least one of a chemical and a species relatedto the chemical, the kit comprising: a surface having at least one of asize and a shape that increases surface enhanced Raman scattering; andat least one additive for performing at least one of enhancing thesurface enhanced Raman scattering due to the additive's affect on thesurface, acting sacrificially to prevent the surface enhanced Ramanscattering produced by the surface from being adversely affected by theat least one of a chemical and a related species, and acting as anintermediate to react with the at least one of a chemical and a relatedspecies prior to interaction with the at least one of a chemical and arelated species.
 2. The kit according to claim 1, wherein the at leastone additive includes an activator that causes the surface to be moresurface-enhanced-Raman reactive toward the at least one of a chemicaland a related species.
 3. The kit according to claim 1, wherein the atleast one additive includes a stabilizer that stabilizes the surface tomaintain surface enhanced Raman scattering.
 4. The kit according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one additive includes a sacrificial agentto prevent the surface from being dissolved or adversely affected by thepresence of the at least one of a chemical and a related species.
 5. Thekit according to claim 1, wherein the at least one additive includes amaterial for releasing the at least one of a chemical and a relatedspecies into a gas phase.
 6. The kit according to claim 1, furthercomprising a barrier that prevents a liquid form of the at least one ofa chemical and a related species from contacting the surface but allowsa gaseous form of the at least one of a chemical and a related speciesto pass therethrough and contact the surface.
 7. The kit according toclaim 1, wherein the surface is composed of a metal.
 8. The kitaccording to claim 7, wherein the metal is silver.
 9. The kit accordingto claim 7, wherein the metal is gold.
 10. The kit according to claim 1,wherein the surface comprises at least one nanoparticle.
 11. The kitaccording to claim 10, wherein the at least one nanoparticle is providedin one of a colloidal form and a solution form.
 12. The kit according toclaim 10, wherein the at least one nanoparticle is provided in alyophilized colloidal form.
 13. The kit according to claim 1, whereinthe surface has a nanoparticle-like texture.
 14. The kit according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one of a chemical and a related species iscyanide.
 15. The kit according to claim 1, further comprising acontainer for storing the surface and the at least one additive.
 16. Thekit according to claim 1, further comprising a container for storing thesurface and the at least one additive, and mixing the at least oneadditive with the surface and a sample to be tested for the existence ofthe at least one of a chemical and a related species.